Gerard Ryle investigates one of this country’s greatest frauds in Firepower.
Tim Johnston’s company Firepower marketed a “magic pill” for car engines claimed to cut fuel consumption and reduce emissions.
The only problem was, it didn’t work.
Gerard Ryle investigates one of this country’s greatest frauds in Firepower.
Tim Johnston was a consummate swindler, conning world leaders, diplomats, celebrities and even Australia’s corporate watchdog ASIC.
In 2007, Johnston was at the peak of his commercial power, Firepower had grown into the biggest sporting sponsor in the country; less than a year later the company owed more than $16 million to its various stakeholders.
It was a fraud of massive proportions that had far-reaching effects: from unwitting “mum and dad” investors robbed of their life savings, to sporting teams like the (now defunct) Sydney Kings basketballers.
Ryle explores how Johnston managed to get away with it for so long, revealing that in the year 2000 Firepower received almost $400,000 from the Australian government in export grants for a product that did not exist, with even former prime ministers John Howard and Tony Blair somehow finding themselves tangled in the mess.
Ryle was the first to expose the shady dealings of Tim Johnston. Firepower is a fascinating record of what has proven to be the country’s worst corporate deception and the man who masterminded it all.
Firepower by Gerard Ryle, Allen & Unwin, RRP $35
